Bank robbery suspect may be the elusive ‘Bombshell Bandit’

ST. GEORGE – FBI agents are investigating whether a California woman accused of robbing a St. George bank last week is the same person who robbed banks in California and Arizona, named by investigators there as the “Bombshell Bandit.”

Sandeep Kaur, 24, was arrested Thursday night by the Mesquite Police Department following a high-speed pursuit that began in St. George and ended in a standoff with law enforcement officers at the Logandale, Nev., exit from Interstate 15.

Kaur is being held at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas on traffic charges stemming from the pursuit, but federal prosecutors have filed a warrant seeking her extradition to Utah so that she can face a bank robbery charge in St. George.

“(Kaur) is under investigation for possible involvement with bank robberies in San Diego, Santa Clarita (Calif.) and Lake Havasu (Ariz.),” said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller, of the agency’s Los Angeles field office.

“She has not been charged with those. Our investigation is continuing,” Eimiller said, adding that allegations regarding the other three robberies could be added to the Utah case when it goes before a grand jury.

Salt Lake City Special Agent Todd Palmer confirmed the FBI is following up on information that might link Kaur to other unsolved robberies, but did not specify what heists the agency might be looking at. However, Santa Clarita radio station KHTS AM-1220 reported Monday that Utah Special Agent William Facer, who was unavailable Thursday, had said the St. George suspect was under investigation for possible involvement with robberies attributed to the so-called Bombshell Bandit.

The FBI’s nickname refers to the suspect’s robbery methods, not her looks, although some witnesses described the woman as wearing a glamorous disguise including a wig, scarf and large sunglasses, according to KHTS AM-1220.

The woman involved in robbing the Valencia / Santa Clarita Bank of the West branch June 6, a Lake Havasu Wells Fargo branch July 8, and a San Diego Comerica Bank branch July 14 allegedly threatened to detonate a bomb attached to her body if the tellers did not comply with her demands for money, KHTS AM-1220 reported.

Information related to Kaur’s arrest in connection with the St. George case states the suspect threatened to shoot the teller if the teller did not provide her a large sum of cash within two minutes.

The report notes officers observed on surveillance footage that the suspect was largely concealed by a hoodie and other clothing, but her hands were dark colored and appeared to have been manicured.

Another bank employee followed the suspect far enough into the parking lot to identify the vehicle she was driving, and St. George Police officers identified a dark-colored Nissan with dealer plates matching the employee’s description near exit 4 and en route to Arizona on I-15.

St. George Police officers followed the car and attempted to make a traffic stop, but the driver failed to heed their emergency lights and sirens, the charging report states.

Arizona officers eventually took over the pursuit through the Virgin River Gorge, and they in turn were succeeded by Mesquite Police and Nevada Highway Patrol officers, who placed spikes to deflate the fleeing car’s tires at the Arizona-Nevada state line and again about 30 miles later in the Moapa Valley area.

A Mesquite Police report stated Kaur at times drove at more than 120 mph during the pursuit, and that she was defiant after finally being brought to a stop at exit 93.

The report states Kaur "rolled down the driver and passenger front windows down and told officers to 'just shoot me.'"

During police negotiations, the report states, Kaur threatened suicide if she was arrested, and said she was trying to reach her "sick grandmother" in Canada.

The north- and southbound lanes of the highway were closed for about an hour during the negotiations. Officers later were able to take Kaur into custody, and allegedly found clothing, a holdup note and an undisclosed amount of cash.

Kaur allegedly admitted robbing the bank during a followup interview with St. George Police detective Adam Olmstead and FBI Special Agent Seth Footlik.

Mesquite police initially reported Kaur is a Union City, Calif., resident based on her driver’s license information, but Palmer said the FBI agent investigating the case confirmed Kaur is from Riverside, Calif.

If convicted of the robbery in federal court, Kaur could face up to 10 years in prison. No appearance date has yet been scheduled in the case.